When it comes to luck...(part one)

Just days away from Christmas 2013, we take our seats at the front of the Salvation Army hall and the lights go down. The music starts and a procession of children make their way from the back of the hall, dressed as angels and sheep and other characters from the Nativity. The youngest of the children, dressed in black, with a white cotton wool vest and ears on elastic, follows the other children onto the stage. For a moment he looks unsure, then he smiles, breaks rank and runs to the front to wave and shout ‘Daddy!’

A couple of weeks later it's January 2014 and the question that lingers is this: whatever happened to 2013?

What happened is that my short story, Lost & Found, was shortlisted for the Plymouth and Bridport short story prizes. Both shortlistings are achievements but the Bridport one is huge, even if shortlistings don’t pay.

What happened is we finally got to see Carrie Underwood perform live, who was stunning, and Brantley Gilbert, another of my New Country heroes. The second day of the inaugural C2C Country to Country festival at the O2 Arena in London was a little slice of heaven for us country music fans. Whispering Bob Harris said we were in for a treat and he was right. Darius Rucker and LeAnne Rimes were also excellent. My other big gig of the year was Springsteen in Coventry. Mum and I sat near the back of the Ricoh Arena while Springsteen dedicated the whole of the Born to Run album to the late, great James ‘Tony Soprano’ Gandolfini, who had died the previous day. It was an emotional moment.

I played fewer gigs in 2013 but there were some good ones. I was invited back to play the Pucklechurch Revel, and Tara Humphris joined me onstage to sing She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5. I was the first act to play on the new bandstand in Page Park (after the official opening ceremony) and, once I’d played my new song ‘In Page Park’, Ant Noel joined me for Blues Highway and The Weight. Seconds before we played The River he leaned over and whispered ‘I may have forgotten my harmonica.’ Moments like this make it all worthwhile.

Playing fewer gigs gave me the opportunity to record and release a second EP, called Echoes. The songs were inspired by The Civil Wars’ If I Didn’t Know Better, but I ended up producing the title track in the style of Joe Bonamassa’s Sloe Gin. Ant played piano and organ, Alex Pearson played double bass, and Alec and Phil played electric guitar and drums respectively. They were all brilliant.

 

 

I was invited to play a set of Springsteen covers at the Curzon cinema in Clevedon, following the premier showing of the new movie, Springsteen & I. It’s probably the most enjoyable gig I’ve ever played. The lighting was great, the audience (in cinema seats) all faced the front and there was a huge floor fan on the stage to keep me cool. My set included Worlds Apart, Soul Driver, When the Lights Go Out, State Trooper and Darkness on the Edge of Town. Jerry Turner joined me and Ant for Thunder Road and then Alex joined us for The River. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I’m so grateful I got to play.

What happened is Dylan started going to nursery three days a week. He's been awarded four badges in Tumble Tots and one badge for his swimming. He can’t go to playgroup anymore so we take him to Sunday school instead. His nursery tell us he’s exactly where should be developmentally except with numbers. Three years old and he’s already top of his class in maths.

What happened is I’ve started taking Dylan to the cinema. His first film is Monsters University, followed by Despicable Me 2 and Planes, and his favourite bit is choosing the sweets before we go in. My favourite bit is the cup of tea and the chance to close my eyes, knowing my boy is quite content in the seat next to me.

The summer was long and hot, and we spent countless afternoons at Horseworld, Slimbridge Wetland Centre, and Vassals Park. We visited our friends Nick, Abigail, Joshua and the newest member of their family, Emilia, in Woolacombe, and Dylan and I spent the night in the motorhome. We spent a wonderful day on the canals with Grandad and Nanny Dinosaur. Grandad Choo Choo took us out in his motorhome, and we rode on a steam train and have a picnic on a diesel.

 

Back home, we had barbeque lunches in our garden and played with Dylan’s tunnels and tents, making dens and paddling in the swimming pool. We invented a game where I ask Dylan if he wanted a biscuit and, when he said ‘yes’, I cupped my hands under the surface of the water and threw as much water as I could into the air. Instant rain. Dylan thought it was hilarious and asked me to do it again and again, requesting ‘cake’ and ‘doughnut’ alternatives. I grew potatoes, sage, figs, grapes, strawberries, courgettes, lettuces and multiple types of tomato, including Golden Sunrise and Marmande. One lovely afternoon, Dylan said he didn’t want to play in the garden, he wanted to go to the park, and we headed over in time to see the air ambulance helicopter land next to the swings. Summers should always be like this.

Another afternoon we took him to the aquarium but, before we got there, we saw one of the eighty Gromits that had been distributed around Bristol. Dylan was already best friends with Roger the rainbow-coloured Gromit who lived in Staple Hill. We asked him if he wanted to go to the aquarium, or if he wanted to hunt for more of the colourful canines. It was a warm day and he made the right decision. He ended up in the Millennium square fountains, soaked from head to toe. Three or four visits to Bristol later, and with no map or guide, we’d seen forty Gromits. It was one of the highlights of the summer.

 

 

What happened is my redundancy insurance ran out. Dylan’s extra days in nursery were going to cost us another £250 a month, even with government help. From September 2013, we were going to be £500 a month worse off and my savings were nearly all gone. I have two stag dos and four weddings to attend in October and November, the last of which is in Jersey.

There’s no way we can afford it.

(to be continued…)